H. Dean Stuyvesant, Jr., helped to save Douglas A. Zimmerman from drowning, Greenville, Pennsylvania, January 30, 1968. Douglas, 12, fell into a rain-swollen river and. was carried downstream by the swift current to an island then under three feet, of water. He obtained a hold on a bush rising above the water 35 feet from the nearest bank and called for help. Among those attracted was Stuyvesant, 31, police sergeant, a poor swimmer. Numbed by the cold water, Douglas shouted that he could not hold on much longer. Stuyvesant, who had removed his uniform jacket, tied a nylon rope around his waist. While others on the bank held the rope, Stuyvesant waded and swam about 45 feet diagonally across the current in water as much as eight feet deep. The rope was extended to its full length by the time he reached the island, where he grasped a bush and found footing, with difficulty. Firemen and others had arrived, and a heavier and longer rope was tied to the nylon rope. Moving from bush to bush on the island, Stuyvesant made his way 20 feet farther to Douglas, took hold of him, and obtained footing among submerged brush to keep from being swept away by the current. Stuyvesant then felt the knot slipping. He shouted to the men to pull the rope back and retie the knot, which they did. Drawing the nylon rope to him, Stuyvesant wrapped it several times around the waist of Douglas. He tied the other rope around his own waist. By then he was becoming dizzy and his hands were so numb that he could tie only one knot in the rope. Holding Douglas, Stuyvesant signaled to the men on the bank. Stuyvesant lapsed into semiconsciousness as the men quickly pulled him said Douglas to the bank. Both were treated at a hospital for exposure. They recovered.
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